Aftershock Classic Arcade

This place is truly a hidden gem. A very unassuming front entrance leads to a large room with an amazing selection of great games. No filler arcades wasting space here, just cabinet after cabinet of some very fun classics. The attached parking lot has ample space. Time spent here is well spent.

This place is awesome. My dad who grew up in the 80's says this is just like his childhood. Best part is the games are still the same price as the 80's! You can spend 2 hours in here with 20 bucks and still have leftover tokens.

This place is a lot of fun! A wide variety of games in good condition so there is something for everyone. Each game is anywhere from 1-3 credits which is more affordable than most modern arcades. We spent $22 for 1.5 hours of entertainment with the games for 4 people. Staff was welcoming upon entry and friendly upon exit.

Games are usually 1-3 quarters. Maintenance was pretty bad. Cracked floors aren't so bad for an old place. But two different pinball machines glitched while we were playing. Multiple tables seemed rigged, with bumpers angled out of place and straight at the drain. The clientele at the time were also a bunch of terminal smokers screaming a continual string of f-bombs. The game selection is amazing, but not sure how much I'd hang out here. Multiple top-rated machines are almost worth seeing as museum pieces.

5-Star Review: Aftershock Classic Arcade Birthday Party We recently hosted our son?s birthday party at Aftershock Classic Arcade, and it couldn't have been a better experience. The upstairs ?small? party room was the perfect home base for our group?just the right size for our boy and his 10 friends to gather, refuel, and regroup between games. The bartenders deserve a special shout-out. They were incredibly helpful and patient, even with a gaggle of excited kids buzzing around. From helping with drinks an

Great arcade! We love this place! Kid friendly until 7, so our boys love coming here after school on a cold/dark/rainy day and playing some classic video games; which makes this geek dad proud. Good rotating tap selection too! Brad rocks! He always makes us feel welcome, like old friends.

Always receive great service here which keeps me coming back! This is one of my go-to places when I wanna have a drink and have fun.

Video games still 25 cents...in token form. All the machines I played from my childhood and teen years were in great working condition. Pinball machines flippers and bumpers all worked perfectly. Joust? Track and Field? Star Wars pinball? Original Mario Bros? All here. Next time I might get some snacks and a drink. We will be back.

This is my favorite arcade bar in town! I feel like it gives much more of the vibe of an arcade that happens to serve beer. They have a consistent lot of classic games (I hold a few top 10 scores myself!) and a chill vibe that makes for a low key afternoon or evening. Hard to beat the prices, and the bartenders are super friendly. Would recommend this place to just about anyone!

This place is great, the games are fun the atmosphere is nostalgic, gives great 80s vibe. But the employees are extremely rude, we came into play games and one of the workers was mopping, we where polite and asked if he wanted us to wait to walk on it, and he gave a snappy rude remark. All the other times where great, but this dude really ruined the experience, he then proceeded to go over and talk crap to his coworker which we could hear clearly. We had no ill intent coming in, happy to play games, and thi

The owners were really nice and they made a really tasty gummy bear garnish cocktail! Lots of games that seemed to be in good condition. If you have a couple friends and want to play old school arcade games, while drinking, this is a good place for that!

The recent Creed0n review is from people who claimed to drive an hour to visit a place that closed within 10 minutes of arriving. Think about that. Drove an hour to arrive 10 mins before close... No way this is legit. If youre not that kind of person then this place is for you. Excellent staff, great atmosphere, and there's a very good reason this place holds game nights, bingo nights, kareoke nights, frequent birthday parties, and pinball tournaments.

Although the outside may not look so attractive, everything inside was awesome i.e. service, games, drinks, vibe, etc. I felt some kind of positivity and relaxing when I walked in. The two staff ladies in the morning (03/30/2025) were full of positive smiles and services while super busy. Most arcade places are usually narrow because of so many big machines but this one was spacious enough in my opinion.

This place was great!! It was like a walk down memory lane for me!! It was like being in an arcade in the 80's. Me and my wife went there for my birthday. Will definitely be going back there in the future! Lots of different games to chose from that is for sure and most of the games seemed to be in good working order for the joysticks and buttons!

I definitely enjoy the variety of pinball machines here, but I was very surprised about the condition of them. I understand older games and heavily used games are not going to always be in good condition, but I played most of them and every game had some sort of major issue. Edit: Changing to one star based on owner response. If a mech isn't working, flipper getting stuck, etc. is what I'm referring to. Assuming that I'm complaining due to not getting a high score is more telling about what's more impor

Really nice retro/pinball arcade featuring mostly older pinball machines. Staff was very friendly, drink selection was solid. The machines seemed to be well maintained and the guncon games were in great shape.

Wow, what a fun place to visit! It has ALL THE GAMES and then some, and they were cheap to play, too! While I visited I drank Warped Speed on tap, and ate some chips for a snack. The service was super nice and quick too! Would 10/10 recommend.

Perfectly situated on East Washington Ave, this place looks and feels retro. The decor fits just right and they have games for everyone. Do the time-warp and bask in its glory.

Fantastic service! Great games. My kids and I had a terrific time. This was my 3rd time there and will always come back when I'm in town!

5 stars 5 stars 5 stars!! I spent quite a few hours here playing games and having a couple pretzels to munch on. They greet you at the door and all the games are in fantastic condition. Played through House of the Dead like it was nothing! Guns were calibrated perfectly. There is something for everyone to enjoy here from pinball to fighting to shooting and a small spice of racing. Next WI trip this place is on my radar.

A well laid-out and varied arcade. Aftershock's owner is a friendly and knowledgeable arcade enthusiast, and their retro video game and pinball collection is simply wonderful. Highly recommend for old school gaming fun with friends.

Fun arcade serving beer and cocktails. Plenty of classic arcade games. Friendly staff and some daily specials.

I'm old enough to remember arcades of the 80's. Aftershock has that vibe but with a bar! I was happy to get my Spy Hunter and Pengo fix while sipping on a beer. The metallic smell of tokens on my hands really brought back some memories. Many games were only one token (.25), which was good because I have more memories than skill when it comes to classic video games. I went in the afternoon when it wasn't busy, but there was a sizable parking lot in the back that made it easy to find a spot. I would def

Did a date night here and it was great. Reasonably priced classic arcade games. Good beer selection. Will be back!

This is a really fun way to spend some time in Madison! I was also pretty surprised with the quality of drinks! They had a Skooma cocktail that I just had to try. It was really yummy. I also had a gin and tonic that had a nice mix. I really like that the machines take quarters instead of specialty tokens.

A nice low key arcade bar with easy access parking. Arcade games are well maintained and gives that "old school" vibe.

The greatest barcade to ever exist!!! The place is straight out of the late 80s and 90s!! Pure nostalgia at its finest! And the staff is so friendly.

Maybe the best arcade in existence. For sure the best thing to do when you want an activity and a drink. They have food and full bar. Games rotate frequently and the selection is massive. It's not crowded but feels packed with games. Cool design on the ceiling. Staff and regulars are always cool.

Great and big selection of old schoolmates from the 70s thru the 90s, including quite a few pinball machines. Al games worked great! Nice staff and good deink selections.

Finally was able to stop in to Aftershock. It was a great time. So many games to choice from. Was able to play some of my favorites like Centipede, Donkey Kong, Tempest, Tetris, and Galaga. I discovered Gyruss and it is fantastic. Overall very clean establishment plus they have a full bar.

Great selection of pinball and other arcade games coupled with a solid beer lineup. Worth finding out how much shittier at these games I have gotten!

We held a group event here and having the room space was fantastic! The staff was accommodating and everyone had a blast

Good drinks on tap, and a huge collection of games for anyone.

This place is awesome!! It's the best Barcade in Madison, that's for sure. Cold beer, some yummy eats, and games a plenty. Was a really good time, highly recommend

This place is awesome. So many great games and it's inexpensive. Took my non-gamer girlfriend and she loved it! Date was successful :) thanks Mick

Very cool spot...date night was great we spent like 12 bucks and played games for over an hour . Definitely check this place out!!!

Great selection of pinball machines and lots of other fun games. Rampage and air hockey were favorites.

Totally fun. Decent beer selection,bunch of the classic old games and bartenders are quite friendly

Great bartenders, great selection of well-maintained games

One of the coolest places I've ever been to. Not just arcades?.but places.

It's a really great homely little arcade. I want them to get a new DDR machine so bad, or refurbish the old one. You'll find an arcade in the bar you can put a quarter in to enjoy some games. They're all around. It's never too much, the place is relatively calm and chill unless it's totally packed with loud peeps! Great place to be. Strongly recommend their staff; good sign of a wonderful place to me.

Great selection of arcade games. Prices of drinks are very reasonable. $5 for a cup of tokens got my brother and I an hour of game play. Highly recommend stopping in.

My favorite bar cade in Madison. They welcome all ages with parental supervision until 7pm. Traditional bar beyond that. I appreciate the atmosphere. A good age mix and plenty of room for all to have a fun time. Also, if you're looking to have a specialty event like a work party or birthday, Aftershock can almost certainly accommodate it!

I just found out about this place and it is fantastic! Feels like a place from the late 80s or early 90s. I don't know how many machines are there, but it seems like 100ish. The staff was great, the beer selection was solid. My wife and I played in arcade for a long time spending about $10 combined. A real gem of a place, I will definitely be going back. They do have some food options, but it's more like a snack bar in a roller rink from the 80's...

A token arcade with mostly classic 2D games, running on 90% CRTs and tokens! While the selection of games is quite extensive, many are in a state of disrepair. Sprite glitches, joysticks that can barely press Down, and DDR Extreme Pro Clarity (!) cabinet with a tiny Dell office monitor, a glitchy converter board, and the worst pad condition I have played on in many many years. And I paid $1 for just a single song on Doubles... For the general public, you'll have fun here for multiple trips. For hardcore ar

Best selection of original eighties and early nineties around. Machines are well maintained and in excellent condition. There are enough games that you still have plenty of options to pay even if it gets busy. Kids can play until seven thirty if accompanied by an adult. I had my fiftieth birthday party here with about twenty friends and family. The owner and staff were great and very accommodating. The party room was already rented out when we called to book it, but they reserved a table for us in the game

This was a pretty cool spot. Had all of the games you would expect to see in a retro arcade and more! And they had a full service bar! Most games only take one or 2 tokens (0.25 each) so it was affordable fun. If I am back in the area, I would definitely go back. Pop in and check them out if you haven't already!

Spacious and has a great variety of games. Personable staff and tokens are easy to obtain if you don't have cash??

I had reached out to get some basic info for my sons birthday party and Chris was quick to respond. We had emailed a few times and I knew this was the place. The price was reasonable, and the party was to be in a room separated from others. The day of the party was great. We were brought right up to the room where it was explained what options we have for food, tokens, and how the whole experience would work overall. If we were missing something the staff was there to help in any way they could and I didn'

This place is awesome, great for kids and adults! Great music, food (pretzels), drinks and games!

Lots of fun games Gets very hot - no AC

Had a great overall experience while coming here. Staff at the bar were excellent and gave off a very friendly and welcoming vibe for the whole place. Didn't have any of the food so can't comment there. The arcade section itself, had a good variety of pinball machines and cabinets from classics like Tetris, Joust, to Donkey Kong. Most are 25? (besides a few). There are quarters machines and an ATM there as well.

From a pinball perspective it's not very good because it seems like the machines are poorly maintained. I had a lot of problems with the machines eating coins. It also seems like half to two thirds of the games have ball-save disabled and a lot of them have burnt out lights. Both times I've been there, 3 or 4 of the machines have been out of order. Also, both times there was one really nice bar tender and one kind of cranky one like some kind of weird good cop bad cop thing (different folks both times). My

If you wanna play arcade games in Madison, this is the place. I was here on a weekday afternoon between Christmas and new years. Not a huge crowd, but steady business and it picked up as evening approached. The bartender was really friendly and made a great old fashioned. This is an arcade first and a bar second. The games are great and plentiful, tons of classics and a few cool games I've never played. There were several staff fixing games the whole time. It's clear the folks here are serious about keeping

Center constructions first stop for corporate events!!

Nice place. Great games. Found a few that I have not seen in any other retro arcade. (Qix, tempest.) Don't be put off by the building's exterior or location. The inside is fine, but not fancy. Staff was super friendly , service at the bar was good, and drinks were too. Quieter than other barcades I've been in.

This place is awesome. We were in town for a family event and were looking for a place to kill some time with the kids. Totally awesome old school arcade and bar. Fun for everyone. Kids were 5, 8, and 17. Everyone had a blast. This place alone is worth a trip down from GB or the Fox Valley if you're in to vintage arcade vibes. Smells like an old bowling alley when you walk in. Perfect spot.

This place is a nostalgic walk down memory lane with full bar, N/A options and fun food options from Pizza to spring rolls! The best selection of 80's-90's arcade games and perfect for parties. We had 50 ppl for my wife's birthday and the staff did not skip a beat. A must check out spot!

I just threw a surprise birthday party for my girlfriend at this location. I would highly recommend holding almost any event here. The atmosphere was exciting, the staff were beyond friendly, and the whole experience surpassed expectations. Thank you for helping turn this anxiety-filled (for me) event into an easy and fun party (for everyone).

Great place with so many different gaming options! I love that you can sit in front and get a beer or head in the back with your kids and play some games. I saw two self-hang coat racks now that it's winter and there is a cup holder at most of the stations for your coins (or drink). $10 worth of coins go a long way. As I was leaving, the bartender thanked us for stopping in. Very friendly and will definitely be back!

Very kind people working here and the drinks are pretty good too!

Great arcade bar! Awesome selection of games that includes an air hockey table tons of pinball machines and classic arcade games. There is also a fabulous custom bar that looks like an Atari that people can also just chill at! Great selection of beer, spirits and plenty of non-alcohol drinks too. Bonus is that there is a huge parking lot and it's located in a great location. Definitely recommend as a place to meet friends or a date night. Also a family friendly place too. A true gem.

An amazing place to catch-up with your flashbacks into the 80s and 90s of retro arcade gaming at its core. Great appetizers wide selection of alcohol and a vast collection of properly serviced machines. Great place to bring kids in the early hours on a Sunday as I did with mine.

THE best arcade in Madison. Seriously, Aftershock harkens back to my youth when arcades were coin-op, cavernous and slightly nefarious. Aftershock ticks all of those boxes and more. Brad and his crew have created a true labor of love with this spot and it's a pleasure to play all of his machines in their entirety. BTW, the machines are in great condition, the tap list is awesome and even the snacks are delicious. We love taking our kids here and throwing back a couple while sharing the love of coin-op fun.

I hosted my husband?s 30th birthday party here and had a great experience! Chris was very responsive in email and helped answer all of my questions. We rented the private room upstairs and they helped get all the tables and chairs we needed for the big day. My husband even got some free tokens for his birthday. If you're looking to host a birthday party for a video game lover, this is a great place!

This place is so much fun. The games are great, the beer is good and staff are friendly. *Edited to remove a complaint about a safety hazard. They addressed the issues and there is no longer a concern.

Only had drinks, so can't really comment on food... But the staff was friendly! The whole point of this place is the GAMES! If you're looking for a nod to the late 80s early 90s arcade, then come here! The only thing missing was a jukebox blaring Journey. Wide selection of coin-op history! Only a couple were not working, with only a couple more that had burned in or faded screens. The rest are total time machines back to your youth! It's amazing, considering most of them have to be 30yrs old or better. Hig

Great place, ended up laying low for the tornado here. And to the girl with the great hair,I played air hockey with, you're amazing. Would recommend this place.

arcades werent my childhood, but what i saw i loved. chill atmosphere, expedient and courteous service, great variety of beer and game cabinets. awesome for families or folks just wanting to have a chill time with a beer and a game. the one and only recommendation id make is to offer jalapenos with those nachos. ??

Fun place with classic games. Nice local beer selection and delicious Old Fashioned. Charming bartender told us our Tuesday night visit was really appreciated.

Much better than the other arcade bar in town. The owner is in business not just for the money, but the love of the games. Good beer selection on tap and a lot of cans available as well.

It was great to get a chance to play games from my childhood. Great variety and nice atmosphere. Will be back. The owners and staff were very attractive if a quarter decided to jam.

Was not expecting an arcade to have the quality and number of beers they did. The food menu was simple but good. Anna the bartender was very helpful and funny. The arcade was packed with vintage games and had a scoreboard highlighting the top scores for all games witch was very cool

Absolutely one of my favorite places in town. Great friendly staff, insane selection of games (especially pinball, my favorite!). Love to go for date night, take the kids, or just hanging out with friends.

A lot of old classic arcade games along with some newer ones. Played Aliens Termination, Area 51, guitar hero and many more. It seemed that staff were attending to favorite customers whenever at the bar but it was also busy. Very stuffy, I would suggest dressing in light comfy clothing. The ski ball didn't work which i was kind of sad.

Excellent place! Bar staff is super friendly and great to chat along to. Lots of games to come yet but what they do have are generally great and most in very good condition. The vibe in here is awesome. Will be coming often!

This bar is amazing! I'm here With my friend to celebrate her 21st and we wanted a bar that also gave us something else to do other than sit and people watch. This bar is IT! The variety of games is amazing, the atmosphere is incredible, the staff and locals are so nice and welcoming. And the PLAYLIST????? FIREEEEE???? rock n roll head bangers after bangers ??The bartender remembered our names the entire night! I came from Chicago but I'm a New Hampshire native that loves going to different local bars to ge

Super fun arcade games at a good price. Kind staff and nice bar with alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks. Definitely a great place for a first date, family day, or even a night to just have fun on your own!

This place was awesome! The bartender was so dope! It was me and my friend's first time there and he was so helpful! On top of that! There were so many games that I used to play as a kid! I loved it!

We had a good time for a few hours for under $5 each. Because we didn't buy wristbands we didn't feel like we had to stay longer and play more games than we wanted becoming exhausted. There wasn't a lot of people so we didn't have to wait in line too long to play the games we wanted something that can't be said for geeks mania for instance. We plan to come back with the kids!

A great place to relive your arcade memories and catch up with your buddies

The owner was very friendly and very helpful. The games were really fun. This place is great for date night or friend/ family gatherings. High recommend!

Great vibes, great time! Lots of games to play and with drinks I can spend hours here.

Great arcade and 21+ after 7pm. Friendly staff that know how to make a drink. The Nerd heat is real so dress accordingly. There are fans but it was hot.

I'd go back. So wide selection of arcade games, most of them are older and maybe will eat some quarters. BUT, the staff was super responsive and helped us out. They also have beer, which is great.

Always a good time here. Solid beer selection, great staff, and an awesome selection of games that they keep up and running very well.

Not much of a food selection but plenty of drinks and were real good. Lots of old classics and all, some might not work well and bartender just gave my tokens back without much questioning cause let's be real, They OLD CLASSICS but fun

Enjoyed our first visit! Game prices are very reasonable. Great selection of arcade and pinball. Great tap beers!